Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw Says He Was ‘Uneasy’ Over Elbow Issue
When the news unexpectedly dropped earlier this month, so too did the hearts of Dodgers fans. Clayton Kershaw was heading to the injured list with an elbow issue for the first time in his Hall of Fame career.
As the days passed, the outlook got better. Dave Roberts wasn’t worried and Kershaw was still going through his usual off-day routine. An MRI back in Los Angeles revealed no structural damage in his left elbow/forearm area. And with that, a sigh of relief from Kersh. The long time Dodgers’ ace talked to Bill Plunkett of the OC Register about the injury and what was going through his head leading up to that MRI.
“I really haven’t had many elbow things before. It wasn’t like a one-pitch deal. It’s something that’s been building over time. It was good to get a good bill of health from an MRI, for sure. I wasn’t, I don’t want to say nervous. But I’d never really had any elbow stuff. So it was a little uneasy, I guess.”
With no damage in the elbow, the Dodgers are now opting to take advantage of this time to rest Clayton up for the stretch run and into the postseason. He was on track to make more than 30 starts for the first time since 2015 — yes, that’s six years ago. Instead, he won’t rejoin the LA rotation until August.
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“I think that this is something that once it kind of came about,” Dave Roberts said, “it made sense to kind of take the time to cut some of the season off and save some bullets for the rest of the season and throughout the postseason. We feel good about it. I’m not sure exactly when he’s going to start playing catch again, but I feel good about the process.”
Kershaw added that “everyone wants [him] to be back as fast as possible” but conceded that being at his best in October is likely more important for a team that’s looking to win its second straight World Series title.
On the season, the 33-year-old is 9-7 with a 3.39 ERA over 18 starts and 106.1 innings pitched.
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You notice CK has been using his slider more than any of his other pitches. The often use of the slider is probably contributing to his discomfort to his elbow and forearm, and they all know it. Even John Smoltz, Pedro Martinez, and Orel have commented the slider is such a devastating out pitch but it puts a lot of strain on the forearm and the UCL joint. For the new CK, he had to reinvent himself from a degraded fastball and an inconsistent curveball, so now his slider as his go to pitch. He needs to develop a change- up to complement his repertoire…if. he gets that going he will be awesome again and will prolong his career, I think.
All the more reason that no matter what, Dodgers MUST trade for at least 1 starter by the deadline.
very fragile will be on il at least two more times before the end of the season.
Gonna be an interesting off season decision. Love him, but another mega deal will be really risky. Need money to sign or replace Seager and have others in the wings. Thank God they never gave Belli a big guaranteed deal.